In 1985 my wife, Janet and our son, Justin were living in a rented home in Key West. I had recently taken over as Chef of Louie’s Backyard. The setting of that restaurant was heavenly to me. The hours inside that kitchen were some of the most physically punishing of…
Category: Memories and Musings
Boat of Hope
A few times a week we head past the boat you see and into the ‘indoor-outdoor’ building behind it called “Fishbusterz”. It is a commercial and retail fish house on Stock Island. The folks who own it are having a tough time, as many are in this economy, that is…
Louie’s Backyard Remembering
Part of the reason we were able to prevail, (see the last quote in the story), was due to the fact that the three owners of Louie’s Backyard were gutsy enough to back my wild notions. One of them, Ms. Pat Tenney passed away this week at the too young…
Cooking Old Key West
I walked into shack of a restaurant (even by Key West standards) on a late morning in the spring of 1971 and was handed a sea-water damp menu with items like Turtle Steak, Jewfish Chowder, Fried Bollos, Tostones, Guava Milkshakes, a meat dish that translated as “old clothes”, (Ropa Vieja)….
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
It has been a busy time with travel but I wanted to share the great time we had cooking together and doing a demo at the always blissful Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden just off Coral Way in Coral Gables. We had been asked to participate in the ‘Edible Garden Project’…
Savor Nashville 2010
We were invited up to “Music City” also known as Nashville, USA. What a great town! The weather was perfect as we arrived to do a dinner at The Watermark Grill. The dinner was kind of a “prelude” to a big city-wide celebration Nashville is having called “Savor Nashville”. The…
Fried Chicken: Memories And A Recipe
When I was about 19 I discovered a few very old hardcover books in my grandmother, “Nana’s” collection. They were in excellent condition unlike her battered paperback detective novels she had taken a fancy to late in life. She had always been more than happy to share any part of…
No Reservations: In The Caribbean With Tony
Tuesday, January 26th It was cool and pitch dark when the alarm rang to get us moving toward a speck of land far down in the Caribbean known only recently to me. It is called ‘Petit St. Vincent’. I learned about it from a producer of our friend Tony Bourdain’s…
Emeril in Miami
It is a great joy to have been friends with Emeril so long already. 21 years and growing in fact. This coming Saturday I will have the role of interviewer to my old buddy. I will be in the luckiest seat in the entire Arscht Theater. To see the dance…
A Julia Child Memory
It seems everyone has his or her own favorite Julia Child story. That’s how well known and firmly entrenched in the American psyche the inimitably voiced gourmet goddess, (of the more Nordic sense) became. I was fortunate to know her and perform with her and it seems that each time…
Guava Is Goodness
When fresh this round or oval fruit is classified as a berry and is high in vitamin C. The edible skin can be white, yellow, green or pink in color; the pale yellow variety is often the sweetest. The Aztecs called them xalxocotl or “sand plums”. Our son, Justin is…
Cooking at the Cia-Greystone, Napa Valley
I woke up in the dark of the Meadowood Inn’s suite we were so lucky to be staying in. The fireplace was pre-set with crumpled newspaper, kindling and split logs. I struck a match before I even started coffee. If there is one thing I want in the home of…
Hot Sauces
I went to a food show in San Francisco where all manner of products are displayed and sampled by potential retail buyers from across the land. It’s like the car show or boat show for foodies. After having been there and seen it for myself I can state with absolute…
Chicken Unlimited
We live in a time of reduced economic advantages its been noted… We seemed to be mad for Kobe just a short while ago. Perhaps washing it down with very limited growth bottle of Bordeaux (which actually is probably a bad combo) but how do you show the fellow swells…
The Banana Bread Man
He used to call it out over and over again on the streets of Old Key West, “Banana Bread, Banana Bread. Get your hot Banana Bread and don’t blame me when it’s gone!” His bicycle seemed like it might flip over front ward with the huge freight of banana bread…